Local elections take shape

The candidate filing deadline has passed for area municipal and school board elections this spring, and a host of familiar names and a few newcomers have thrown their hats into the ring for a chance to serve their communities in an official capacity.

Here is a list of candidates vying for office on May 12:

Flower MoundThe “NFL” trio of Mayor Melissa Northern, Place 2 councilman Al Filidoro, and Place 4 councilman Steve Lyda have filed for reelection and said that they will run as a ticket similar to their 2010 campaign.

“It was not our intention to run as a team, but our backgrounds complemented each other in such a way that it was a win for us and for Flower Mound,” said Mayor Northern.

Sitting councilman Tom Hayden and retired resident Al Cloud will run against Northern.

Hayden was first elected to town council in 2009 and ran unopposed for a second term last spring. He said that his platform will focus on leadership and not politics, alluding to the increasing contentious environment that has marked recent council meetings.

Bryan Webb will challenge Filidoro in Place 2.

Webb, who ran unsuccessfully against Steve Lyda for Place 4 in 2010, said that he will be focusing his campaign on two primary issues: economic development and transparency and openness in government – a common theme among NFL’s opponents.

Former councilman Steve Dixon and Staton Oak Estates HOA president Jay Cannon are looking to unseat Lyda in Place 4.

Dixon defeated Lyda in 2009 for the Place 1 seat. He said that he is the most experienced candidate for Town Council, and has served the town from 2004-2011 on many boards and commissions and is an active member of the Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce.

Both Webb and Dixon said that, if elected, they will support and maintain the current Oil and Gas Ordinance that was passed last July.

Highland VillageThere will be one race in the city, as two sitting councilmen – Patrick Davis and Bill Irwin – are vying for the mayor’s seat that will be vacated by Scott McDearmont this May.

Davis was first elected to Place 5 in May 2009. He retired last May from a second career as a Lewisville ISD middle school science teacher after a 30-year business career.

Irwin moved to Highland Village in 1988 and has logged a combined four years on city council since 2001, serving from 2001-03 and again since 2010 in Place 2.

Mayor McDearmont, who served on the Highland Village City Council since 2006 and as mayor since May 2010, announced his intention to not seek reelection last December, citing an opportunity to expand his medical practice.

Only one candidate has filed to run in each of the available council seats.

Michelle Schwolert will take Irwin’s seat in Place 2, Louis Robichaux has secured a fourth term in Place 4, John McGee will serve a second term in Place 6, and Frederick Busche will fill the remaining term of Patrick Davis in Place 5 if Davis is elected Mayor.

LantanaThere are three board seats up for election in both of Lantana’s Fresh Water Supply Districts.

The other two incumbents, Ross Ferguson and Adrian Weaver, have chosen not to seek a second term.

Ferguson served as board president during the past two years and headed up a resident petition drive to restore the Denton County Sheriff’s Department’s authority to enforce traffic regulations in the community.

In less-populated District #7, incumbent Alex Teusink and newcomers Todd Beggs, Jim Lieber and Steven Kyle Martini are on the ballot.

Incumbents Charles Lee and John Rausch are not running again.

Rausch was appointed in 2007 after a board member passed away. Lee, the lone non-Lantana resident on the board, has served since the inception of FWSD #7 in 2000.

The top three vote-getters in each district will win seats on their respective boards.

ArgyleThree council seats are in play, and although Joey Hasty, Dona Schroetke and Jackie Thomas are all running for re-election, Schroetke and Thomas filed for different places than where they currently sit.

The Place 3 race pairs Joan Delashaw against current Place 5 councilmember Jackie Thomas.

Delashaw was appointed to the Argyle Planning and Zoning board in November 2011.

Three candidates will face off in Place 5: Trey Thurston, Peggy Krueger and current Place 3 councilmember Dona Schroetke.

Simmons was on Planning and Zoning in the 1970’s, and Krueger is a current board member of the Argyle Economic Development Corporation and past president and board member of the Argyle Chamber of Commerce.

BartonvilleLongtime Mayor Ron Robertson, along with Jim Farrell and Gracie Egan’s council terms are up this May.

Both Mayor Robertson and Place 2 Councilman Farrell will run unopposed. This will be Robertson’s sixth term in office and Farrell’s second.

Jim Strange is challenging Egan’s bid for a second term in Place 4.

Residents can also participate in a local option election that if successful, would allow the sale of liquor for off-premise consumption in town.

Copper CanyonSteven Hill, Dave Svatik, and Dan Christy all filed to retain their council seats and no one stepped up to challenge them, so the town will not hold an election this May.

Double OakNo ballots will be cast in Double Oak, as incumbents John Dondrea and Tracy Scott Miller, along with former mayor Mike Donnelly, filed for the three council seats that were set to expire.

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Garrett has decided not to run for a second term.

In addition, each of the area school districts has two board seats up for grabs:

Argyle ISDA total of five candidates filed for two at-large seats.

Incumbents Wendee Long and Randy McKellar and joined by candidates Eric Fields, Spencer Jefferies, and James Manos.

English has run unsuccessfully before and has three children attending Harpool Middle and Guyer High schools.

Dr. Jeanetta Smith is running unopposed in Place 2. Smith was first appointed to the board in October 2006 to fill the unexpired term for Place 2, which was vacated when her husband, Dr. Sterling Smith, died.

Lewisville ISD Place 1 trustee Tom Ferguson is not seeking re-election, and his seat has drawn the attention of former trustee Kathy Duke, retired educator June Ehinger, Tracee Painter, and Paige Shoven.

Vernell Gregg is being challenged in Place 2 by former LISD employee Trisha Sheffield and Cornelia Bekker.

Early voting begins on April 30 and runs through May 8. Election Day is May 12.